LeanBlog Podcast #14 — Dave Gleditsch, Pelion Systems

LeanBlog Podcast #14 is a discussion with Dave Gleditsch, the Chief Technology Officer for Pelion Systems, a leading provider of software for lean manufacturing applications.

I first met Dave after I read his Industry Week columns and traded some emails with him. He has a great background in manufacturing and lean, so I think he has an interesting perspective to share on lean and technology.

Show Notes and Approximate Time, Episode #14

2:30 The real issue was a poor definition of what lean really is, lean has some very concrete things for improving and innovating.

3:30 It's not just cost cutting, it's about maximizing customer value with the minimum required resources.

4:20 At American Standard, lean helped save the company, but it also became a platform for growth

5:00 Do traditionally cost driven people automatically focus on lean as only a cost cutting tool?

6:00 In the boardrooms, the real cost is gross margin expansion — impacting the top line AND the bottom line (lean and six sigma are great tools for that). You can't just cut costs on the path to growth.

15:20 What is Pelion Systems? What services and technology do they offer?

18:40 Pelion had the first web kanban portal

19:10 What business problem is Pelion helping to solve?

20:45 Can technology help speed up or further a culture change?

24:00 You have to look at more than manufacturing, but also at how different parts of the companies work together.

25:20 What about The Toyota Way principle about technology? “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.” What about the anti-technology bias that tends to exist in the lean world?

30:15 What about companies who have been burned by ERP or technology promises in the past? Does that make it challenging for a software company today? What about technology vendors who seem to promise a “silver bullet” solution for manufacturers?

35:00 Is the software industry learning from past rollout mistakes? Are companies using the technology evolving?

35:25 How Pelion operates with a clear customer charter, business case, etc.

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the “Lean Line” at (817) 993-0630 or contact me via Skype id “mgraban”. Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.